Indra and six other Spanish companies have agreed to develop a surveillance system combining autonomous vehicles, acoustic sensors, and AI to monitor underwater infrastructure and detect potential threats.
Called SIPRIS, the project aims to bring information from the sea surface and seabed into a shared operational picture, helping operators identify unusual activity and direct inspections.
The agreement provides a framework for integration work, demonstrations, and validation ahead of potential commercial deployment.
Underwater Network
Indra will coordinate the project, define its architecture, and integrate the participating companies’ technologies.
Its contribution will include naval mission systems, the IndraMind AI platform for analyzing information, aerial drones, and communications management.
Underwater acoustics specialist SAES will provide sensors and sonar processing technology to detect and classify underwater activity.
UTEK will develop autonomous surface vessels to expand surveillance coverage and conduct inspections, while Iqua Robotics will supply autonomous underwater vehicles designed to inspect infrastructure and automatically identify anomalies.
Aragon Photonics will contribute technology that uses optical fiber to detect acoustic events along underwater communications networks over distances of tens of kilometers.
This would allow sections of the network to act as distributed sensors, extending monitoring beyond individual sensor locations.
FYLA will work on optical communications to exchange information between equipment deployed underwater.
Sateliot will provide satellite connectivity to support coverage and operations across geographically dispersed locations.
The partners plan to allow additional companies and research centers to join as development progresses.
Stepping Up Undersea Surveillance
The news comes as European officials warn of threats to undersea cables and pipelines, while Spain identifies their potential sabotage as a major concern in its assessment of hybrid threats.
Damage to underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea has fueled suspicions of Russian involvement.
Although Spain has recorded no deliberate attacks on its underwater infrastructure, its navy’s maritime surveillance center in Cartagena detects around 50 suspected Russian shadow fleet vessels near Spanish waters each week, according to a report published earlier this year and cited by El País.
Their presence off the Canary Islands increased fivefold in a year.
Spain’s Mediterranean sector alone contains 37 submarine cables with a combined data capacity of 811 terabits per second.
To expand its underwater capabilities, the Spanish Navy is preparing to introduce Poseidón, a 91-meter (299-foot), 5,000-metric-ton vessel equipped with a remotely operated vehicle that can descend to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet).
Originally designed to support submarine rescue, it will also be able to inspect deep-sea infrastructure.
A smaller vessel, Proserpina, measuring 32.9 meters (108 feet), will carry side-scan sonar and a remotely operated vehicle for inspections at depths of up to 900 meters (2,953 feet).